Imphal | May 8 : A woman in Manipur whose husband had been a victim of alleged “extra judicial” killing involving security forces have been threatened by an accused to withdraw the case. She had been fighting against all odds at the face of the threat that has seriously jeopardized her life.
“Khangembam Priyokumar Singh was killed by a combined team of Imphal West police commandos led by Jemadar Binoy Irom and personnel of 12 Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) led by Lt Vikram on January 4, 2009,” said Khangembam Puspa Devi, wife of the victim of the alleged extra judicial killing, in a complain to the CBI in 2010 seeking an investigation to the case of the killing of her husband Priyokumar in suspicious circumstances.
She stated in that complaint memo that the FIR report–FIR No. 4 (1) 2009 WGI-PS U/s 121/121-A, 307/34 IPC, 25 (1-c) A Act & 5 Expl. Sub. Act & 16/20 UA(P) Amnt. Act 04–and the postmortem examination report which she had gathered reflected contending claims of the death of her husband.
Few days after the incident, Puspa was informed by a local vegetable vendor that during the first week of January 2009 two youths had been brought near Ishokching playground by security personnel who were beaten mercilessly. At the intervention of the womenfolk of Ishok village the act of beating was discontinued but the two youths were taken to the nearby hill and killed, an aggrieved Puspa said.
She went on to say that on the day of the killing she had telephoned her husband on his mobile when Tekcham Mohindro Singh received the call and swiftly disconnected. As Mohindro was persuaded to explain how her husband’s mobile was with him, Mohendro maintained that her husband and his friend named Nehru had given him the phone before they left for some work, she said.
In the initial FIR report, Puspa had said that Thekcham Mohindro Singh and Thekcham Ajit Singh were accused of accessory to murder in the “extra judicial” killing of her husband, but corrected later on that the name Thekcham Ajit Singh was an oversight which was to be replaced with Thekcham Ojit Singh.
In order to force her to withdraw his name from the list of the accused, Mohindro and his wife along with Ojit and his wife have been allegedly threatening her to go to the press to clarify and strike out his name.
“They also threatened me that if I refused to go to the press, the entire family of Khangembam Sagei (clan) will be fired to cinders,” she said in another complaint made to the State Detector General of Police. She has also alleged that the accused families dragged and beat her to go to the press to affect the withdrawal.
The litigation on the killing of Khagembam Priyokumar Singh in an alleged fake encounter on January 4, 2009–W.P. (RCL) No 24 of 201–was heard by Imphal bench of the Gauhati High Court who appropriately issued notice to the respondents mentioned in the case.
In a press conference, Puspa Devi said defiantly, “If they want to kill me, let them do so. I just wanted to know the circumstances leading to the killing of my husband.”
Human Rights Initiative (HRI), a Manipur based human rights watch-dog has extended all possible assistance to Puspa Devi in her fight against security forces’ unrestrained behavior of extra judicial killing in the State.
S Seitabati, women coordinator of HRI, said that she would be provided a safe haven by HRI if she is afraid to fight from home and sufficient protection would be provided when appearing in the court.
Another HRI member who was present in the press conference accused the police of not discharging its duties which have often complicated cases. “If the police had acted in right earnest, the situation would not have come to this past. State security forces are singularly responsible for the present situation.”
“Khangembam Priyokumar Singh was killed by a combined team of Imphal West police commandos led by Jemadar Binoy Irom and personnel of 12 Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) led by Lt Vikram on January 4, 2009,” said Khangembam Puspa Devi, wife of the victim of the alleged extra judicial killing, in a complain to the CBI in 2010 seeking an investigation to the case of the killing of her husband Priyokumar in suspicious circumstances.
She stated in that complaint memo that the FIR report–FIR No. 4 (1) 2009 WGI-PS U/s 121/121-A, 307/34 IPC, 25 (1-c) A Act & 5 Expl. Sub. Act & 16/20 UA(P) Amnt. Act 04–and the postmortem examination report which she had gathered reflected contending claims of the death of her husband.
Few days after the incident, Puspa was informed by a local vegetable vendor that during the first week of January 2009 two youths had been brought near Ishokching playground by security personnel who were beaten mercilessly. At the intervention of the womenfolk of Ishok village the act of beating was discontinued but the two youths were taken to the nearby hill and killed, an aggrieved Puspa said.
She went on to say that on the day of the killing she had telephoned her husband on his mobile when Tekcham Mohindro Singh received the call and swiftly disconnected. As Mohindro was persuaded to explain how her husband’s mobile was with him, Mohendro maintained that her husband and his friend named Nehru had given him the phone before they left for some work, she said.
In the initial FIR report, Puspa had said that Thekcham Mohindro Singh and Thekcham Ajit Singh were accused of accessory to murder in the “extra judicial” killing of her husband, but corrected later on that the name Thekcham Ajit Singh was an oversight which was to be replaced with Thekcham Ojit Singh.
In order to force her to withdraw his name from the list of the accused, Mohindro and his wife along with Ojit and his wife have been allegedly threatening her to go to the press to clarify and strike out his name.
“They also threatened me that if I refused to go to the press, the entire family of Khangembam Sagei (clan) will be fired to cinders,” she said in another complaint made to the State Detector General of Police. She has also alleged that the accused families dragged and beat her to go to the press to affect the withdrawal.
The litigation on the killing of Khagembam Priyokumar Singh in an alleged fake encounter on January 4, 2009–W.P. (RCL) No 24 of 201–was heard by Imphal bench of the Gauhati High Court who appropriately issued notice to the respondents mentioned in the case.
In a press conference, Puspa Devi said defiantly, “If they want to kill me, let them do so. I just wanted to know the circumstances leading to the killing of my husband.”
Human Rights Initiative (HRI), a Manipur based human rights watch-dog has extended all possible assistance to Puspa Devi in her fight against security forces’ unrestrained behavior of extra judicial killing in the State.
S Seitabati, women coordinator of HRI, said that she would be provided a safe haven by HRI if she is afraid to fight from home and sufficient protection would be provided when appearing in the court.
Another HRI member who was present in the press conference accused the police of not discharging its duties which have often complicated cases. “If the police had acted in right earnest, the situation would not have come to this past. State security forces are singularly responsible for the present situation.”
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